Decision stems tide of hikes

In-state freshmen enrolled in UNC-Chapel Hill during the fall of 2001 paid $2,328 for tuition.

Three and a half years later, these seniors are paying $3,205 for the same education.

And the cost of tuition has skyrocketed across the UNC system during the last four years.

UNC-CH students experienced a 38 percent increase in tuition, while state residents at N.C. State University faced a 57 percent increase. Undergraduates attending Appalachian State University, UNC-Charlotte and N.C. Central University have felt the effects of a 70 percent increase in the cost of their tuition.

“These increases are not the norm,” said Steve Bowden, member of the UNC-system Board of Governors. “What you are seeing is a snapshot of a period of four or five years. If you look over something like a 20-year period, you will see that this is not the general trend.”

The board met Friday to approve a freeze on in-state undergraduate tuition increases, deciding that students could not afford another hike.

BOG member Robert Warwick said that requests to increase tuition at UNC-system schools are to be expected, but that the hikes still remain smaller than those students in other parts of the country experience.

Despite this, students on many system campuses have rallied against the tuition hikes and have made the issue a main topic among state legislators.

Bowden said more support from the legislature on issues of higher education is needed to stop the tuition increases.

“We are just not getting enough money from the legislature to sustain and improve our schools,” he said.

Bowden added that the increases are necessary to pay for faculty retention, provide more class sections, sustain small class size and maintain campus facilities.

“Inflation, as well as other economic issues, also comes into play with these increases,” he added. “There are many different factors and dynamics that come into the picture with this issue.”

Warwick said most of the revenue from tuition increases will go toward funding student aid and increasing faculty salary.

At Friday’s board meeting, 13 system schools pitched requests to the board.

In addition to raising faculty salary and student aid and lowering class size, UNC-CH planned to use the tuition increases to augment the amount of graduate student support and library materials.

In deciding to freeze tuition, the board left it to the N.C. General Assembly to supply the additional money to meet each school’s wishes.

And although the board members put an end to tuition increases for in-state undergraduates for the next school year, they have deferred making a decision about out-of-state and graduate student increases until March.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.